This is the final week for the 2015 True Life Fund. We like to see the Fund as an expression of gratitude, a way once a year to say thank you to someone who was brave enough to share a story with us that we needed to hear. This year we are saying thank you to Adi Rukun of The Look of Silence, whose unprecedented acts of bravery have helped break decades of silence surrounding Indonesia’s mass killings of 1965-66.

Following the production of The Look of Silence, Adi and his family left their home in North Sumatra for their safety. This is where the men who Adi confronted and pose him the most serious risk are powerful enough to enjoy legal impunity. His new home will be in a city with a high international profile where paramilitaries and other extra-legal groups rarely commit acts of violence. As the foundation of his family’s new life, Adi plans to open a brick-and-mortar optometry shop here where he can continue his practice.

We are thrilled to announce that we have currently raised $31,000 to help Adi in this endeavor.  We want to raise an additional $4,000 during this final week of the fund and to send Adi an even $35,000. Please consider donating here, and help us meet this goal.

We know we can do it. We’ve seen and heard the impact Adi and his story has had throughout the extended True/False community, both here in Columbia and throughout the world of documentary film. Now it’s time to say thank you.

You can learn more about why we feel so strongly about this story here and read about the one scene in The Look of Silence filmed by Adi here.